(c) 1981 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Series created by Terry Nation. This is a partial dialogue transcript for research purposes and is not for sale under any circumstances. Format (c) 1993 by Susan Schnitger, Micky DuPree and Frances Teagle.
Dramatis Personae
Kerr Avon
Vila Restal
Del Tarrant
Dayna Mellanby
Soolin
Orac
Slave
Gunn Sar
Pella
Kate
Nina
Cato
Luxia
Uncredited: Assorted Hommiks
| [Corridor near door of landing silo] | |
| VILA | [runs instrument along door] Herculanium. |
| TARRANT | So you can't cut it-- |
| VILA | Can't cut it, burn it, blast it. |
| DAYNA | Can you open it? [Vila shrugs] |
| TARRANT | You can or you can't. |
| VILA | Very difficult. |
| DAYNA | Very necessary. |
| TARRANT | Why, unless of course you feel like living on nuts and berries for the rest of your life. |
| VILA | Eh? |
| DAYNA | Food, Vila. What we've got will last us maybe three weeks if you can't open that door. |
| TARRANT | We can't get back to Scorpio, and without that ship
we're as much prisoners here as we were on Terminal. [Hillside. Avon is hurrying along a path. He shoots a Hommik who was aiming a crossbow at him. He tries to shoot at two more but is out of ammunition. He runs pursued by them.] [Corridor near door of landing silo] |
| VILA | [opens box on door] I'm not sure about this. [indicates a mechanism inside] At least I know it's a voice recognition input, but why is it just here? |
| TARRANT | Well, can't you bypass it? |
| VILA | No, they're foolproof. |
| TARRANT | Well, perhaps-- |
| VILA | And before you say it, they're Avon-proof, too. |
| DAYNA | I'll look for him anyway. |
| TARRANT | Yeah. [Hillside. Avon is running from the Hommiks. Three Seskas observe from higher on the hillside. He crouches near a bush to use his communicator as the Hommiks shoot at him.] |
| AVON | Orac! Orac! [Control room. Orac is sitting on a stand in the teleporter area. Dayna is using a monitor screen. She looks over when Orac begins to speak.] |
| ORAC | At the present stage of development, the chances of
achieving critical restructure are less than eleven
percent. [Hillside] |
| AVON | Never mind that, Orac, I need teleport NOW. [He looks
up to see a crossbow pointed at him within a foot.] [Control room. Dayna has moved over to Orac.] |
| ORAC | Giving due consideration to the probabilities, I must assume that your request is a frivolous one. |
| DAYNA | What request? [speaking into bracelet wired to Orac]
Avon, where are you? What do you want? [Hillside] |
| DAYNA | [v.o] Avon, can you hear me? [A Hommik pulls the
bracelet off Avon's arm and twists and crumples it.]
Avon, can you hear-- [the sound breaks off] [Control room] |
| DAYNA | Avon? [Hillside. Avon is lying there unconscious. The Hommik drops his broken bracelet beside him.] [Control room. Vila and Tarrant enter, speaking together.] |
| VILA | Well, there's always rodents of one sort or another. |
| TARRANT | I'm a growing lad, Vila. Rats are not the answer to my diet-- |
| DAYNA | [Makes a gesture to cut them off] Yes, but Orac, can you get a fix on him? |
| ORAC | The locator fixing device was an integral part of his transceiver which is no longer operating. |
| TARRANT | Problem? |
| DAYNA | Something's happened to Avon, and Orac's being difficult. |
| ORAC | I am not being difficult, but functioning according to request. |
| VILA | What happened to the transceiver? |
| ORAC | It is no longer functioning. |
| TARRANT | Yes, but why? |
| ORAC | There is a seventy two percent probability that it was damaged by a hostile agency. |
| TARRANT | What was the last thing he said? |
| ORAC | He requested immediate teleportation. |
| DAYNA | But the teleport doesn't work. |
| ORAC | Precisely. |
| TARRANT | Orac, give us a fix on Avon's last known position. |
| ORAC | Grid two nine zero by four two eight. |
| DAYNA | [Goes to monitor, works controls. The screen shows the empty hillside.] Nothing. |
| TARRANT | There, zoom in on that. [The screen zooms in on the broken bracelet.] Right, I'm going to take a look. |
| DAYNA | Yes, me, too. |
| VILA | What about me? |
| TARRANT | There's a door to open, remember? [exits] |
| VILA | And there's a lady with a gun wandering about, remember? |
| DAYNA | Soolin's nowhere on the base, Vila. You're safe. [exits] |
| VILA | [calling after them] Hey! If she's out on the surface,
maybe she got Avon. [On hillside. The three Seska watch as Avon is dragged away by some Hommiks.] |
| LUXIA | Who is he, do you think? |
| PELLA | He must have come in on Scorpio, there's no other way. |
| KATE | Should we check? |
| PELLA | I shall. You follow. [exits] [Gunn Sar's room. He is lying on a table while Nina massages him.] |
| CATO | [Enters] Sir, we have the intruder. His equipment and gun. [Hands them to Gunn Sar.] |
| GUNN SAR | Oh, bring him in, bring him in. Let's see what you've got. [Starts to examine Avon's gear.] |
| CATO | [Calls out door] Bring him in. [Two Hommiks bring Avon in.] |
| GUNN SAR | Well, don't just stand there, woman. Bring meat! [shoves her] Ale! |
| AVON | [pulls his arms free of the Hommiks grip] You have a fetching way with women. |
| GUNN SAR | Who are you to address ME like some joker? |
| AVON | My name is Avon. |
| GUNN SAR | I don't care what you call yourself. I am Gunn Sar, chief of the Hommiks. I rule by right of challenge, which means I'm the biggest, toughest, meanest son of a Seska on this planet. |
| AVON | I believe you. |
| GUNN SAR | You'd better. [To Cato] What's the tally of challenges? |
| CATO | Twenty-five dead and one missing, sir. |
| GUNN SAR | [moves to speak to Cato more directly] Oh, come on, Cato. Don't quibble. Marquin fell backwards off the cliff. |
| CATO | Yes, sir. |
| GUNN SAR | So he's dead. Like, you can't say someone's missing as such. Not when they've taken a dive into a bottomless gorge. |
| CATO | No sir. |
| GUNN SAR | So, it's twenty-six dead. |
| CATO | The council ruled it was twenty-five, sir, and one missing. |
| GUNN SAR | [returns to face Avon] Twenty-five men lie dead who tried to stand against me. And one, if he's not still falling, is no more than a greasy spot on the rocks, right? |
| AVON | Impressive. |
| GUNN SAR | You killed two men. |
| AVON | If I'd known we were keeping score, I would have brought more ammunition. |
| GUNN SAR | [holds his fist up to Avon's face] What were you doing on my land? |
| AVON | YOUR land? |
| GUNN SAR | With instruments and tools, speaking devices. [holds up one of Avon's devices] A petroscope. |
| AVON | You know what it is? |
| GUNN SAR | What were you looking for? |
| AVON | Some crystals, nothing of any consequence. |
| GUNN SAR | What crystals? |
| AVON | Dynamon. |
| GUNN SAR | Dynamon? Dynamon? You look like a man. [Walks around Avon, looking him over] You smell like a man. |
| AVON | So? |
| GUNN SAR | So. What do you want with dynamon? [On hillside] |
| DAYNA | Orac was right. [picks up the crushed bracelet] I'd say there was a hostile agency, wouldn't you? |
| TARRANT | [Calling loudly] Avon! Avon! [Corridor near door of landing silo. Vila is attaching a cable to a device. Pella takes hold of the cable.] |
| PELLA | Shall I hold this out of the way? |
| VILA | Yes, thank you, If you wouldn't mind. [Realizes that there shouldn't be anyone else and turns to look, dropping the lance on his hand in his surprise] Aaaah! |
| PELLA | [laughs] I am sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. |
| VILA | I thought you were a lady gunfighter. Ohhh. Just a minute, who are you? Where do you come from? Ooohh. [cradles hand, blows on it.] |
| PELLA | Let me. [Takes his hand, strokes it] I am Pella, of the Seska people. Does this hurt? |
| VILA | It did. How did you get in? |
| PELLA | The secondary hatch was open. |
| VILA | Oh. |
| PELLA | [takes flat compact from pouch and opens it] Your hand is badly bruised. Here. [rubs ointment on Vila's hand] In ten minutes the pain AND the bruise will be gone. |
| VILA | Ah. |
| PELLA | Do you think you can open the door? |
| VILA | I can open the lock. |
| PELLA | And can you break the computer code? |
| VILA | No, but Avon can. [pause] You seem to know a lot about it? |
| PELLA | The only way off this planet is through that door. Where is Avon? |
| VILA | Outside. |
| PELLA | Are the others looking for him? |
| VILA | Yes, we think he may have had an accident. [pause] How do you know about the others? |
| PELLA | Your friend hasn't had an accident. He's in trouble. The Hommiks have taken him. |
| VILA | Hommiks? Is that bad? |
| PELLA | For Avon, very. [Gunn Sar's room. He is lounging at the table, eating. Nina kneels to change his boots.] |
| GUNN SAR | So. You want dynamon crystals. |
| AVON | Yes. |
| GUNN SAR | They're rare. |
| AVON | So I've been told. |
| GUNN SAR | So rare, there aren't any. What there was have all been dug up. Right? |
| AVON | I'll take YOUR word for it. |
| GUNN SAR | Anyway, they're useless. Expensive baubles for the ladies. So, why do you want 'em? |
| AVON | My computer suggested they might be useful. |
| GUNN SAR | Huh! Your computer! Not your books or your mates or your woman or your assistant, but your computer. You talk to computers? You understand computers? |
| AVON | [Glances at instrument panel across the room] Don't you? |
| GUNN SAR | [To Nina] Watch what you're doing, you sniveling sack of offal! [Avon grabs the hand he has raised to strike her.] So. You want to be number twenty-seven. |
| AVON | [smiles] Don't you mean number twenty-six? |
| GUNN SAR | [to the other Hommiks] Go! Make preparation. [Corridor near door of landing silo. Vila has mounted the lance on a stand and is adjusting its position.] |
| VILA | So there's two tribes, the Hommiks and the Seskas. |
| PELLA | The Seska are not a tribe. |
| VILA | Not too close. The gap is all connected with the thickness of the door. So what's the difference between Seskas and Hommiks? |
| PELLA | How do you know how thick it is? |
| VILA | By the stress pattern. |
| PELLA | I don't see anything. |
| VILA | Not without this you won't. [Picks up an instrument] |
| PELLA | Oh, I see. And what does that tell you? |
| VILA | The weight of the door. I know the height, the width, what it's made of, how dense it is. |
| PELLA | And the computer works it out? |
| VILA | Computer? Who needs computers? I just have to look at it. |
| PELLA | You must be very clever. |
| VILA | That's what I keep telling everyone. They even believed me in CF One. |
| PELLA | CF One? |
| VILA | A sort of academy, when I was a boy. They chose me as technical advisor for the escape. |
| PELLA | Escape? From an academy? |
| VILA | Perhaps academy was the wrong word. |
| PELLA | [indicating voice input box] What about this? |
| VILA | Ah. |
| PELLA | Do you know what it is? |
| VILA | Oh yes. I just don't know what it's for. |
| PELLA | And they didn't teach this in, ah, Academy? [laughs] There's a switch. When the door is closed, every forty-eight hours Dorian must say a code word to reset the timing. |
| VILA | Is that forty-eight hours Standard Time? |
| PELLA | Earth Standard Time. This planet is very like Earth, I think. That is why the Seska came here. |
| VILA | And what happens if Dorian doesn't reset the switch? |
| PELLA | There's a nuclear compression charge. |
| VILA | Yes, there would be. |
| PELLA | The whole base would psyoohh! [makes gesture to indicate an explosion] |
| VILA | Oh, well. [turns off the lance] Nuts and berries it is, then. |
| PELLA | Nuts and berries? |
| VILA | Or rodents. |
| PELLA | You speak like a Hommik. |
| VILA | What do you eat, then? |
| PELLA | WE have a hydroponic dome. |
| VILA | And the nutrients? |
| PELLA | Dorian brings them from Onus Two. |
| VILA | Well, you better start thinking nuts and berries, then. Dorian's dead. |
| PELLA | Dead? |
| VILA | Two hundred years, but he made it in the end. I didn't think anyone would be sorry. Least of all me. [Looks at door] This could go at any time, couldn't it? [jumps as an electronic chime sounds] |
| PELLA | [Takes out an instrument and adjusts it.] I must go. |
| VILA | No, wait, what about this. Pella-- [Catches her by the arm. She stares at him and he gasps with pain and is flung back onto the floor.] |
| PELLA | I'm sorry, Vila, truly, but I must go. [exits] |
| VILA | [to himself] Don't let me stop you. [Hillside. Kate and Luxia are waiting as Pella joins them.] |
| KATE | Pella, quickly, you must hurry. The others are at the
main entrance. [All three hurry off.] [At main hatch. Tarrant and Dayna run up. Tarrant pushes some buttons on the lock.] |
| TARRANT | Orac knows more than he's saying. |
| DAYNA | So what do we do? You can't put thumbscrews on a computer. |
| TARRANT | Oh, he'll answer. [The hatch opens] We just have to
ask the right questions, that's all. [They enter and
the hatch starts to close.] [Corridor. Vila comes up to join Tarrant and Dayna.] |
| VILA | Did you see her? |
| TARRANT | Who? |
| VILA | Pella, a young woman. She was here a moment ago. [The next two lines are delivered simultaneously.] |
| DAYNA | What are you talking about? |
| TARRANT | Nobody just passed us. |
| VILA | We've got to get out of here, this whole place could, there's a nuclear compression charge, we've got to move-- |
| DAYNA | Vila! |
| TARRANT | Calm down, Vila, take it easy. |
| VILA | It could go at any time! |
| TARRANT | Let's just take one thing at a time. This young woman-- [The arena area outside the Hommik building. A group of Hommiks are standing about. There is a stone table with an assortment of bladed weapons laid out on it, and nearby there is a rectangular metal column. Two Hommiks bring in Avon.] |
| GUNN SAR | I am Gunn Sar, slayer of Mavarik, Lord of the Hommiks. I rule by the strength of my right arm and by my left arm and by the... [He runs out of arms. He leans over and a Hommik whispers in his ear. Avon smiles broadly.] When Gunn Sar dies in combat, the victor is Lord. |
| HOMMIKS | Hurray! |
| GUNN SAR | [Walks over to Avon] I've got to say all that. |
| AVON | Tradition. |
| GUNN SAR | Well, old Mavarik was sixty-three. He had it coming anyway. [hands his coat to a Hommik] Gunn Sar will live! |
| HOMMIKS | Gunn Sar will live! |
| GUNN SAR | Pick a weapon. |
| AVON | I'll have a neutron blaster. |
| GUNN SAR | [Looks at an advisor, who shakes his head] No neutron blasters. |
| AVON | In that case I'll have a glove. |
| GUNN SAR | A glove? |
| AVON | A glove. [removes his jacket] |
| GUNN SAR | [gestures to a Hommik] A glove. [The Hommik hands Avon his gloves and Avon puts on the right one. Gunn Sar selects a broadsword. While Avon is still adjusting his glove Gunn Sar shoulders him to the ground and tries to stab him with the sword, but Avon manages to dodge the thrust. They fight, with Avon dodging Gunn Sar's swings and occasionally getting in a karate chop or a blow with his knee. Throughout various Hommiks yell encouragement: "Kill him!", "Get him, Gunn Sar!", and so on. Avon pops open a hatch in the metal column and pulls out a nozzle on a power lead. He fires this at Gunn Sar's weapon and the blade breaks off and lies on the ground burning, to Gunn Sar's amazement.] |
| AVON | [Pointing nozzle at Gunn Sar] An ordinary domestic heliofusion rod. You haven't seen one, have you? |
| GUNN SAR | Don't! |
| AVON | All that underground heat, light, power ... and you never considered where it came from? [A Hommik sneaks up behind Avon. Gunn Sar gives him the nod and he drops Avon with a blow to the head.] |
| GUNN SAR | Put that thing back where it came from. Use his glove. [On the hillside] |
| PELLA | The one being held by the Hommiks is called Avon. |
| KATE | Well, does he concern us? |
| PELLA | Our future depends on him. Dorian is dead. |
| LUXIA | Dead? But the Scorpio... |
| PELLA | Without Avon, the Scorpio is lost. [Cell. Avon in dropped there, unconscious.] |
| GUNN SAR | [to a Hommik] Watch him. |
| HOMMIK | Right. [All the Hommiks exit.] [Control room. Tarrant and Vila are watching the monitor.] |
| DAYNA | [enters] I've checked the secondary hatch. Locked, from the inside. |
| VILA | So she used the main entrance. |
| DAYNA | WE used the main entrance. It was locked. Besides, if she came in that way she would have tripped the surveillance alarm. |
| VILA | Then she's still on the base. |
| DAYNA | I've checked. There's nobody here. |
| VILA | All right, I'm going mad. Comes of drinking and talking to myself. I could be lying, of course, have you considered that? |
| TARRANT | Vila, we're not accusing you of lying or going mad. We just want to know how she got out-- |
| DAYNA | IF she was here. |
| TARRANT | --and how she got in. |
| VILA | I told you the secondary hatch was open and she-- |
| DAYNA | It wasn't. I checked them both this morning. |
| VILA | [holds out hand] Well, look at this: I dropped the lance body right across it and the bruise-- |
| TARRANT | I can't see any bruise. |
| VILA | No. Must be brain warp. Think I'll just go off and die somewhere. [starts to exit] |
| TARRANT | Vila. |
| VILA | What? |
| TARRANT | The door. |
| VILA | Which door? |
| TARRANT | The door to the landing silo, how long before you free the lock? |
| VILA | Oh, that. I'll need to switch the lance on. Course we still need Avon. [Starts to exit, turns back] Have you ever seen a nuclear compression charge go off? Everything gets sucked in. It's like a mini black hole. Looks good. From a distance. [Exits slowly] |
| DAYNA | Do you think I should go with him in case-- |
| TARRANT | In case what? He has got brain warp? |
| DAYNA | Or a flask of booze. |
| TARRANT | No, leave him. [Changes monitor controls. The screen shows the three Seskas hurrying along.] |
| DAYNA | That makes a difference, doesn't it? [On hillside. The three Seskas stop when they spot a Hommik on the ridge above them, turn to discover three more are behind them. The Hommiks are carrying neck clamps attached to poles.] |
| PELLA | If you get the chance, Kate, go. [Corridor outside control room] |
| DAYNA | --it's all right, but I agree with Vila, I think we should get out of here. |
| TARRANT | Abandon Scorpio when there's every chance we can save her? Look, we don't know when the place is going up, we could have hours-- |
| DAYNA | Or even minutes. |
| VILA | Seconds. |
| TARRANT | If we can get through the door we can operate the switch manually-- |
| VILA | You mean pretend it's not there, just walk through it? |
| TARRANT | Well, that's what your Seska friend did with the hatches. Perhaps she can show us how it's done. |
| DAYNA | Tarrant, it's serious. |
| TARRANT | I'm being serious. [Control room. Tarrant enters, followed by the other two.] |
| TARRANT | Orac, is it possible for a living person to pass through a solid hatch without there being any material disturbance. |
| ORAC | The process is called teleportation. |
| DAYNA | Oh, well, nothing like stating the obvious. |
| TARRANT | Could a person just teleport themselves as an act of will? |
| ORAC | No, unless directed by an outside agency, matter transmuted to energy will merely dissipate at random. |
| VILA | [Indicating teleport area] Could this have done it without us knowing? |
| ORAC | I am exploring the possibility. Without a co-radiating crystal to focus the beam, the mechanism will operate at point zero zero one percent efficiency. |
| TARRANT | Orac, a woman was inside this base and she's not inside it now. Given that the hatch remained locked from the inside, how would she get out? |
| ORAC | The logical alternatives are within the bounds of
human reasoning. I suggest you consider them and leave
me in peace to reflect on those matters which are not. [Hillside. A Hommik pulls a bag over Pella's head.] |
| CATO | Hurry. [Another Hommik slips his clamp about her neck.] |
| PELLA | [muffled cries] No, let me go. No! [muffled cries] [Kate runs off, pausing twice to look back. A Hommik shoots her with a crossbow.] |
| KATE | Aiiiee!
[The Hommiks lead Pella and Luxia off by their neck
restraints.] [Hillside. Kate pulls the crossbow bolt from her thigh and takes out her container of ointment.] [Cell. Avon is lying face down, unmoving. Pella is brought in by three Hommiks. One releases her neck clamp and she falls to the floor. Two Hommiks exit.] |
| CATO | Don't get too comfortable now, we'll be back for you just as soon as the surgery is free. [Exits] |
| PELLA | [Pulls bag off her head, looks around and sees Avon lying there.] Avon? [When he doesn't react, she moves close to him and he rears up ready to give a karate chop. When he see her he pauses] You are Avon, aren't you? |
| AVON | Perhaps I was somewhere else when they introduced us. |
| PELLA | [Takes out her compact of ointment] You've been hurt. |
| AVON | Well, you could say that. [Corridor near door of landing silo. Some sensors have been attached to the door and wires lead from them to Orac.] |
| ORAC | However, the nuclear compression charge is set to detonate in precisely three hours twenty-four minutes. |
| TARRANT | [To Vila] So you've got to get that door open fast. How long? |
| VILA | The lance will be through in about an hour. But there's still the computer code. We still need Avon. |
| TARRANT | Do we... Orac, can you interpret and break the computer code? |
| ORAC | The code sequence is the numerical value of the letters contained in the word "Narcissus." |
| TARRANT | [to Vila] No problem. [Vila nods, they turn and start to walk away.] |
| ORAC | However, the device has a secondary trip relay. When the door is opened, the charge will detonate automatically. |
| TARRANT | Are you telling us there's no way to reach that override switch? |
| ORAC | One way. The same way by which a woman passed through a hatch which was later seen to be locked from the inside. |
| TARRANT | How do we find that woman? |
| ORAC | The information you require is on the chronicle disks
in the records locker. Now will you please return me
to the control room where I have work to do. [Cell. Pella is trying vainly to push the door open against the weight of an unconscious guard. She turns towards Avon.] |
| PELLA | Can you walk? |
| AVON | Very likely. [stands up] But just at the moment I can't think of too many places to go. |
| PELLA | There was a girl with me when we were captured. We've got to find her. She's very young. They're going to operate on her. And then on me. |
| AVON | Operate? Why? |
| PELLA | So that we will no longer be Seska. [touches her neckband] |
| AVON | Seska? |
| PELLA | When our spirit is broken, we give THEM sons. The daughters are left to die on the hillside. Sometimes we're unable to find them in time. The Hommiks are regressives. They reverted to primitive tribalism hundreds of years ago. It's all they know. Now please, if you care at all, will you help me with this door? |
| AVON | There's a large bolt on the other side. |
| PELLA | The door is open. |
| AVON | [Pushes on door] But there's something blocking it. [Pushes the door open forcing the body of the guard outside to roll aside.] Or should I say someone? [Looks at the unconscious guard and picks up a nearby rock] How do you suppose this happened? |
| PELLA | Please, we must hurry. [In control room. A screen displays a still image of a woman.] |
| VILA | Have you notices that they're all women? So far we haven't seen a single men on these disks. |
| DAYNA | [enters from o.o.s.] These all that's left. It's as though history stops twenty years ago. This is the last. [hands disk to Tarrant] |
| TARRANT | Has Orac scanned them? |
| DAYNA | Mm, for all the good it does us. The only person he treats with any respect is Avon. [Tarrant inserts a disk.] |
| NINA | [On screen] Interim report concerning the last engagement in the battle for A-X ridge. At oh eight five three nine, defense losses numbered eighteen dead and seven taken. Estimated Hommik losses: zero. At oh eight six one one, a nucleic burster was released in the procreation vault contaminating the Seska seminal stocks. Survival threshold has been passed, with Seska strength now numbering ninety four, which includes fifty two infants. Maravik, conducting the Hommik deployment from the safety of his A-F hill HQ, has called for an unconditional surrender. A rejection is already being drafted, but there is a growing feeling among the Seska remnant that women, even with the power we have could never-- [An axe is chopped into her desk. The record ceases.] |
| VILA | The Seskas are women. All of them are women. |
| TARRANT | And presumably the Hommiks were men. Looks like it was a war between the sexes. |
| DAYNA | And the men were winning. |
| VILA | What's a nucleic burster? |
| DAYNA | A radiation flare. Very dirty. Last thing you'd want in a procreation chamber. |
| TARRANT | Wait a moment. [Rewinds disk for a moment] |
| NINA | [on screen] --conducting the Hommik deployment from the safety of his A-F hill HQ-- |
| TARRANT | [turns off recording] A-F hill? A-X ridge? |
| VILA | That's what the lady said. |
| TARRANT | Well, then we can trace it back, all we need is the
original point of reference. One of us will have to
ask Orac.
[They look at each other. Dayna shakes her head.] [Operating room. Nina places a Seska neckband in a dish then dabs a small wound on the back of Luxia's neck with a gauze pad. A Hommik guard is standing off to one side.] |
| NINA | I've finished. She'll sleep now. [Pella and Avon look through a window in the door. Nina spots them. Pella rushes in.] |
| PELLA | Nina, why have you done this? [The Hommik grabs at her but is thrown back by her power. Avon chops him unconscious.] Nina, what have they done to you? How could you be a part of this? |
| AVON | Pella, never mind. We're too late. Let's go. |
| PELLA | I can't leave Nina. Nina, come with us. We can escape. |
| NINA | And how would I live? |
| PELLA | We have food. You don't need the Hommiks. |
| NINA | Nor do I need Dorian. |
| AVON | Pella, come on! |
| PELLA | Dorian's dead. |
| NINA | Then so are you. Gunn Sar feeds me. Why should I leave? |
| PELLA | Because you are Seska. Nina, these people, they're good. We can get off this planet. |
| NINA | I don't want to get off the planet. I don't want to go anywhere. |
| PELLA | Nina -- |
| AVON | Pella! |
| NINA | Now please. I have my duties to attend to. |
| PELLA | I feel sorry for you, Nina. You were a Seska, but more than that, you were a great Seska. |
| NINA | And now, I am a woman. [exits] [Pella picks up the discarded neckband.] |
| AVON | I'll take that. |
| PELLA | It isn't yours. |
| AVON | Nor is it yours. But it doesn't really matter whose it is. Give it to me. |
| PELLA | No. |
| AVON | Then I'm going to have to take it. |
| PELLA | I don't want to hurt you, Avon. |
| AVON | [Grabs her wrist. The pain starts and he is thrown back a little way against the wall.] Oh, it's good. But it's not good enough. |
| PELLA | Don't make me do it again. |
| AVON | You must, though. Mustn't you? [Grabs her wrist again. After a moment, he lets go and staggers back a little, but he's not thrown back this time.] Oh, it hurts, Pella. But I will win. [Grabs her right wrist and hand in both his hands.] There's not much left, is there? |
| PELLA | Enough. |
| AVON | [Uses his grip on her hand to force her to the ground.
Then he takes the neckband from her and puts it aside.
He takes her by the shoulders and helps her back up
again.] You see, Pella, it's your strength, and
however you use it, a man's will always be greater.
Unfair, perhaps, but biologically unavoidable. [He
kisses her, then lets her go. She drops to the ground.
He picks up the neckband.] I'm going now, Pella,
before your friend Nina calls out the guard. [Gunn Sar's room. He is embroidering a shirt. Nina enters.] |
| GUNN SAR | Is it done? |
| NINA | Yes, she's sleeping. |
| GUNN SAR | Any problems? |
| NINA | No. [pause] Oh, except your prisoners escaped. |
| GUNN SAR | WHAT? [starts to rise] |
| NINA | It's all right. They won't go far, I alerted security. |
| GUNN SAR | [contemptuously] Security. |
| NINA | The Seska's name is Pella. |
| GUNN SAR | So? |
| NINA | I remember her being born. |
| GUNN SAR | Hnn. |
| NINA | She asked me to go with them. |
| GUNN SAR | Go where? |
| NINA | Escape. |
| GUNN SAR | So. Why didn't you?
[Nina crosses and kisses him on the head.] [Hillside. Kate hides behind a rock as Tarrant, Dayna and Vila approach.] |
| VILA | How much further is it? |
| TARRANT | Fifteen minutes. |
| VILA | That'll leave us an hour and a half. And I'm tired already. |
| DAYNA | You didn't need to come, Vila. |
| VILA | I didn't need to stay. I get lonely, y'know.
[They walk on. Kate starts to follow after them but spots a
security camera and hides again.] [Computer room. Cato is watching Tarrant, Dayna and Vila on a screen.] |
| CATO | [into a communicator] Security alert. Intruders at A-F forty-three. Approach and apprehend. |
| AVON | Interesting. |
| CATO | [turns to discover Avon standing there with a crossbow aimed at him.] How did you find this place? |
| AVON | There had to be a computer room. |
| CATO | But it's-- |
| AVON | Concealed? Yes, but then I've had a little experience in these things. Oh, by the way, I shouldn't rely too heavily on your security. It has ... [gestures with the crossbow] ... weaknesses. |
| CATO | Gunn Sar--? |
| AVON | Gunn Sar doesn't know. But Gunn Sar doesn't know a lot of things, does he? |
| CATO | He is our leader. |
| AVON | And a very good one, if a little.... |
| CATO | Stupid? |
| AVON | Well, I didn't like to say it. |
| CATO | He thinks we have scouts posted everywhere and runners. |
| AVON | Impractical. So why do YOU keep up the illusion? |
| CATO | For the Hommiks, the people. If they see this they'll want more. Hydroponic food, machines, neutron blasters. |
| AVON | [Smiles] And you don't have them to give. Because your civilization died a long time ago. |
| CATO | Yes. |
| AVON | What killed it? |
| CATO | A war. [Avon lowers the crossbow.] Everything was lost. Industry, people. Afterwards, the Council of Survivors decreed that we should start again, from the very beginning. Wooden tools, flint arrowheads, the wheel. Ten thousand years advancement destroyed in a day. |
| AVON | And this? [Indicates the room] |
| CATO | Overlooked. It's self-maintained. Powered by our sun, it will last forever. This generation, even Gunn Sar, believes it to be some kind of magic that keeps the chambers light and warm. A computer is like some ancient god to them. |
| AVON | What about the Seskas? |
| CATO | The Seskas? Why do you-- [Avon's arms bring the crossbow up and shoot him. Cato falls to the floor. Avon tosses the crossbow aside and kneels beside Cato.] |
| CATO | Why? [dies] |
| PELLA | [having entered unnoticed] Yes, Avon, why? |
| AVON | I didn't. |
| PELLA | Your finger was on the trigger. YOU killed him. |
| AVON | I didn't, Pella. But YOU did, didn't you? |
| PELLA | [A keyboard rises from the table behind Avon's back.]
Yes, if you say so, Avon, I killed him. [The floating
keyboard hits Avon on the head and he falls
unconscious, dropping the neckband. She picks it up.]
You are nothing more than a Hommik, Avon. [Gunn Sar's room. He is playing with a large 3-D tic-tac-toe game. Nina and a Hommik enter.] |
| NINA | The guard have brought in some more intruders. |
| GUNN SAR | More? What is this, an invasion? Can't I have a minute's peace and recreation without intruders bursting in all the time? Well, don't just stand there. Bring them in, bring them in. |
| HOMMIK | [calls out door] Bring them in. [More Hommiks lead in Tarrant, Dayna and Vila.] |
| GUNN SAR | What do you want? |
| VILA | A second chance? |
| TARRANT | We're from-- |
| GUNN SAR | I don't care where you're from. I am Gunn Sar, chief of the Hommiks and I'm getting very weary of, of-- [Breaks off, confused.] Nina, where's Cato when I need him? |
| NINA | I'll bring him. [exits] |
| GUNN SAR | I am Gunn Sar, chief of all the Hommiks, I rule by right of challenge, and twenty six lie dead-- |
| DAYNA | So I challenge you. |
| GUNN SAR | What? |
| DAYNA | I challenge you. [pause] You rule by right of challenge. I challenge that rule. [Gunn Sar laughs.] |
| TARRANT | Not one of your better ideas, Dayna. |
| DAYNA | Do you accept my challenge? |
| GUNN SAR | Don't be foolish. You're, well, you're a-- |
| DAYNA | A woman? Yeeesss. Take a GOOD look. [punches him on the jaw.] |
| GUNN SAR | All right, woman, you just made a very big mistake. [Corridor in Hommik dwelling. Kate grabs Nina, covering her mouth. She lets go when they recognize each other.] |
| KATE | Nina! |
| NINA | Kate! [Pause] But you're so-- You've grown up. |
| KATE | I thought you were dead. [They hug.] What are you doing here? |
| NINA | I'm the wife of Gunn Sar. |
| KATE | Wife? But you're a Seska. |
| NINA | No, I'm a woman. [Clanging starts] You must go, quickly. Soon there will be Hommiks everywhere. |
| KATE | What is that? What's happening? |
| NINA | It's a Call to the Arena. Someone has just been stupid
enough to challenge my husband. [Both exit as Hommiks
rush by.] [Computer room. Nina finds Cato's body, then rolls the unconscious Avon over.] [Combat area. The Hommiks are gathered, Vila and Tarrant stand nearby with their hands tied before them.] |
| GUNN SAR | [to Dayna] Choose your weapon. [Dayna scans the weapons and selects a dagger. Gunn Sar takes a dagger and a cudgel. They begin the fight, swinging and dodging each others blows. Throughout the fight the other Hommiks call out encouragement frequently: "Come on, Gun Sar", "Get her, Gun Sar", "Kill her", "Go on, Gunn Sar", "Get in there" and so forth. Kate is watching from the hill above. Pella joins her.] |
| PELLA | Sssh. I thought you were dead. |
| KATE | I nearly was. [The fight continues.] |
| PELLA | The black woman must win. |
| KATE | I know. [More shots of the fight. Dayna fights well until Gunn Sar gets her in a hold she is unable to break free of. The Hommiks laugh and cheer on Gunn Sar.] |
| KATE | Two Seskas and a woman against Gunn Sar? |
| PELLA | It is enough. [Gunn Sar is forcing Dayna to the ground. She is pushing back up at him] Now. [Gunn Sar's body flies backward violently. He hits his head against the metal box and slumps to the ground. As the Hommiks start to gather around him Dayna stares at her hands in disbelief.] |
| TARRANT | [comes up to Dayna] Don't make a fuss, Dayna. Just
walk and keep on walking. [She does so, followed by
Tarrant and Vila.] [Computer room. Avon is watching this happen on a screen.] [Gunn Sar's room. The Hommiks have laid his draped body on the table. Nina uncovers it, then weeps over him.] |
| NINA | Now the people shall leave this place, Gunn Sar. We
shall seek a new home, far from here, a new way of
life. [Continues to weep.] [Control room. Tarrant, Dayna and Vila enter. Vila holds a timer and checks it continually throughout the scene.] |
| TARRANT | Orac, in sixteen minutes this base will be destroyed and you with it. Is there anything logically more important than trying to stop that happening? |
| ORAC | Yes. The most logical course of action is to transport me to safety with all due urgency. |
| VILA | He's groveling! |
| TARRANT | We're not going anywhere, Orac, until you give me straight answers to two questions. One, how did the Seska woman get out of here? And two, how does that method enable us to deactivate the nuclear compression charge? |
| ORAC | Answers. One, the woman made her exit via the secondary hatch. |
| TARRANT | It was locked from the inside. |
| ORAC | The hatch was unlocked and locked again from the outside by telekinesis. |
| TARRANT | [disbelieving] Telekinesis? |
| ORAC | The power to move objects at a distance using only the mind-- |
| DAYNA | [Cutting him off] Yes, we know what it means. |
| ORAC | And yet you fail to see it as the only logical explanation and the means by which the manual override switch may be operated to cancel the nuclear compression charge. Now, will you kindly remove me to a place not closer than seven hundred and forty two meters from the launch chamber door. |
| TARRANT | Orac, telekinesis doesn't work, it's a myth. The human brain doesn't generate enough energy. |
| ORAC | The human brain does not need to generate energy. There is adequate energy elsewhere in the body. The brain merely directs it, given the ingrafted co- radiating crystal necessary to focus the beam. |
| PELLA | That's a very clever machine. [They turn to find Pella and Kate have entered unnoticed.] |
| VILA | Pella! |
| TARRANT | No need to ask how you got in. |
| PELLA | [smiles] Telekinesis. |
| KATE | We apologize for startling you, but there isn't much time. |
| VILA | Thirteen minutes. |
| PELLA | Shall we go? |
| TARRANT | Wait. Why should you care? |
| DAYNA | Does it matter? |
| PELLA | We care because the Scorpio is our only contact with civilization. |
| KATE | Without it, we become like the Hommiks. We need nutrients for our food process. |
| TARRANT | Now let's just be clear about this. The Scorpio is our ship. |
| VILA | Twelve minutes! |
| DAYNA | Tarrant, if that charge goes off it won't be anybody's ship. |
| PELLA | In return for nutrients, we offer what we offered Dorian: technical assistance. The Seska are specialists in tele-ergonomics and energy transference. |
| TARRANT | What, a teleport system of point oh oh three -- |
| DAYNA | Tarrant! |
| TARRANT | -- percent efficiency? |
| KATE | It's a matter of time, that's all. The teleport is difficult. The Seska have worked on it for generations. |
| TARRANT | How many Seska are there? |
| PELLA | We are the Seska. |
| VILA | Eleven minutes! |
| TARRANT | Yes, but what about the others? |
| PELLA | There aren't any others. Last week we were five. This morning, three. And now we are two. |
| VILA | Ten and three-quarter minutes! |
| TARRANT | Let's go. [Hillside. Avon runs along.] [Corridor near door of landing silo. Vila finishes using the lance while still holding the timer and turns to face the others.] |
| VILA | The lock is free. Nine and a half minutes. Just do
your business with your tele-whatever. Have you ever
seen a nuclear black hole go off? it's like a mini
compression charge. Yes, I know I'm prattling. It's
nerves. Nine and a quarter minutes. [Control room] |
| AVON | [enters] Well, Orac? |
| ORAC | "Well" is not a question. |
| AVON | Don't play games. You know what I'm asking. |
| ORAC | The answer is yes. With qualifications. |
| AVON | Then qualify. |
| ORAC | The feat of calculation was prodigious, the result imperfect. |
| AVON | Degree of imperfection? |
| ORAC | Variably low. You will be required to perform circuit adjustments. |
| AVON | Of course. WHERE? [Corridor near door of landing silo] |
| PELLA | [steps away from door] It's safe. |
| VILA | Is that it? |
| PELLA | Yes. |
| VILA | [touches the input box tentatively] It doesn't feel any different. |
| PELLA | Try it. |
| VILA | You haven't made any mistakes? |
| PELLA | No. |
| VILA | [to Tarrant] Try it. |
| TARRANT | [punches a series of keys] Numerical narcissus. [Nothing happens.] That's it. |
| PELLA | So why hasn't it opened? |
| TARRANT | I don't know. |
| AVON | I do. [They turn to find Avon leaning against the wall.] |
| DAYNA | Avon! |
| AVON | Narcissus is not the code word. Orac made it up. |
| TARRANT | Why? |
| AVON | Because that was my instruction. |
| DAYNA | You told Orac not to crack the code? |
| TARRANT | Why do that? |
| AVON | For much the same reason as Dorian. I didn't like the idea of Scorpio taking off without me. I'm sorry to spoil your plan, Pella. |
| PELLA | Be careful, Avon. I can very easily reset the detonator switch. |
| AVON | But you can't change the timing. |
| TARRANT | What is all this about? |
| AVON | Pella's ambition to take Scorpio. |
| TARRANT | What makes you think that? |
| AVON | On the inside of the landing silo there's a wheel that can be used to crank open this door manually. |
| VILA | [nods] Standard safety precaution. |
| AVON | Use the wheel to open the door, and the nuclear compression charge won't detonate. Unfortunately for Pella, her telekinesis was never powerful enough to turn that wheel and her technical expertise couldn't develop a teleport system. |
| KATE | Oh, but she is developing-- |
| PELLA | Quiet, Kate! |
| AVON | No, that's what she told Dorian. That's why he's been feeding you. Dorian believed her too. |
| VILA | What about Orac? |
| AVON | Orac has been a little devious on my instruction. Ever since I discovered that Dorian's last attempt at a teleport was really a tele-ergotron. |
| TARRANT | What is a tele-ergotron? |
| AVON | The controlled direction of pure energy, in this case directed by Pella at the wheel inside the landing silo. |
| PELLA | You've got a good brain, Avon. [Produces a gun and points it at Avon.] So use it. Open the door. |
| KATE | What are you doing, Pella? [starts forward] |
| DAYNA | [stops her] No. |
| PELLA | Keep out of this, Kate. That ship is mine. |
| AVON | Kill me and you'll never get to it. |
| PELLA | [Points the gun at Dayna] Open the door, Avon. |
| AVON | That's an interesting choice of hostage. |
| PELLA | The door! [Avon crosses to the door, punches four keys then shuts the panel door. The door opens.] |
| KATE | Stop it, Pella!
[Kate rushes at Pella, who shoots her dead. Pella
enters the launch silo and the door closes before the
others can rush in. Avon takes the crystal from
Kate's neckband.] [Inside silo. The Scorpio's turntable begins to turn and rise.] [Control room] |
| AVON | All right, Orac, where does the crystal go? |
| ORAC | There is a cavity immediately behind the forward lens mechanism. |
| AVON | [goes to teleport area] Will it work? |
| ORAC | There is a high probability. |
| AVON | But you're not prepared to put a figure on it? |
| ORAC | No. [An electronic signal] |
| VILA | The launch doors are open. |
| TARRANT | Dayna, surveillance. |
| AVON | Orac, the coordinates might change suddenly. [Starts to insert the crystal into a small housing box.] |
| ORAC | It is logical to assume so. |
| DAYNA | Launch thrusters are running. |
| ORAC | Tracking on. |
| DAYNA | I've got the count down. [Slave counts down in the background, from 12.] |
| TARRANT | That's Slave. |
| AVON | Orac made contact and has overridden the security
program. Slave responds to anyone on the flight deck
now. [Slips the housing box back into the teleporter.] [The countdown reaches zero. The Scorpio emerges from the cave mouth.] [Control room] |
| DAYNA | Launched. |
| AVON | [accepts a gun from Tarrant] Still tracking, Orac? |
| ORAC | Of course. |
| AVON | All right, Orac. [Crosses to stand in the teleport
area with gun in hand] GO! [He vanishes] [Flight deck of the Scorpio. Avon materializes. Pella sees him and shoots as he ducks behind a panel. He fires back, hitting her. He crosses to her, aiming his gun at her head] |
| PELLA | That always was the easy answer for the man -- the Hommik! |
| AVON | If you didn't want the answer, you shouldn't have
asked the question. [She grimaces with pain and dies.] [Control room] |
| AVON | [v.o.] Xenon base, this is Scorpio. |
| DAYNA | [into communicator] We hear you, Avon. |
| AVON | [v.o.] Everything's under control. Why don't you join me? |
| DAYNA | How? |
| AVON | [v.o.] Just tell Orac what you want. |
| TARRANT | That hasn't done us much good so far. [Flight deck] |
| AVON | [to himself, looking at Pella] It's a problem, isn't it? You can have war between races, war between cultures, war between planets. But once you have war between the sexes, you eventually run out of people. |
| SLAVE | It is beyond my humble capacity to offer an opinion, Master. |
| AVON | [smiles broadly] Oh, that's very good. You may turn out
to be my kind of computer after all.
[Dayna and Tarrant materialize in the teleport area.] [Control room, Xenon base. Vila is standing alone in the teleport area.] |
| ORAC | I did not guarantee one hundred percent success. |
| VILA | Why is it always me? |
| SOOLIN | Seems fairly obvious from where I'm standing.
[Vila looks over at Soolin, who has entered unnoticed]
|
| DAYNA | [into communicator] Vila, are you all right? |
| VILA | [v.o.] Yes, um, listen, what do you think about having an extra person around for a while, to .... sort of help out, and so on. What do you think? |
| AVON | [reseats ammo clip in his gun] I think Soolin just came out of hiding. |
| TARRANT | [into communicator] Who are you talking about, Vila? [Vila and Soolin materialize in the Scorpio's teleport area.] |
| SOOLIN | He's talking about me. |
| TARRANT | You want to join us, is that it? |
| DAYNA | Why? |
| SOOLIN | Why not? Dorian's dead. |
| AVON | You give your allegiance easily? |
| SOOLIN | I don't give my allegiance at all. I sell my skill.
[She whips out her gun. Avon is holding his aimed at her.]
|